This invention relates to metal fabricated structures adapted for portraying or indicating an appearance of a natural palm tree.
Natural palm trees are known to be placed or grown for decorative purposes within outdoor courtyards, pool side areas, common halls of commercial buildings, and residential living areas. Such placement desirably promotes a tropical or seashore ambience within such spaces. Natural palm trees are often difficult to grow and maintain within enclosed structures, and natural palm trees are often impossible to grow and maintain out of doors in northern climates. Known artificial palm tree structures promote a tropical or seashore ambience without incurring the growth, plant health and environmental control difficulties associated with natural palm trees. However, artificial palm trees are typically difficultly and expensively constructed, lack durability, and often ineffectively portray or indicate the appearance of a natural palm tree.
The instant inventive artificial palm tree overcomes the above noted defects and deficiencies by providing a metal trunk frame, helically wound metal skin, and pinnate palm leaf plate assembly which promotes economies in construction time and labor, which promotes cost economies, and which effectively promotes and conveys a natural palm tree appearance.
The instant inventive artificial palm tree is necessarily mounted upon and extends upwardly from a base. Preferably, the base comprises a xe2x85x9cxe2x80x3 inch thick steel plate having rectangular dimensions of approximately eighteen inches by twenty-six inches. Preferably, the base has a centrally located spindle receiving aperture therethrough, and has a plurality of, preferably four, mounting lug or bolt receiving apertures which are peripherally located near the four corners of the base. The spindle receiving aperture beneficially facilitates rotary movement of the trunk frame during fabrication, and the mounting lug apertures facilitates attachment of the base to a concrete slab or wooden deck surface.
The upper surface of the base preferably includes four bar receiving recesses preferably arranged radially in a square pattern around the spindle receiving aperture. The diagonal distance between the bar receiving recesses preferably approximates the diameter of the lower end of the trunk of the inventive artificial palm tree. Suitably, the base may be differently shaped and may comprise a rigid material other than steel.
Four lengths of steel bar stock, preferably having diameters between ⅝xe2x80x3 and xc2xexe2x80x3, are butt joint welded at their lower ends to the preferred steel base so that each metal bar extends longitudinally upward from one of the four bar receiving recesses. The recesses facilitate welding of the butt joints where the fabricator chooses to extend the bars upwardly at an angle other than 90xc2x0, in the manner of natural growing palm trees. Each such longitudinally extending bar has a length approximating the desired overall length of the trunk of the artificial palm tree, and each of such bars is preferably arcuately curved in a manner reflecting a natural curvature of a trunk of a natural palm tree. Preferably, the longitudinally extending bars are substantially identically bent to assume the desired curvature prior to welding to the base.
The preferred four longitudinally extending bars comprise major structural elements of an internal trunk frame. Suitably, a greater or lesser number of longitudinally extending bars may be utilized in the construction of the trunk frame member. Preferably, welded cross braces span between the longitudinally extending bars, such cross braces providing rigidity and structural strength to the frame. Preferably, the cross braces have centrally welded xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d configurations, and preferably such braces are spaced at approximate two feet intervals, having progressively shorter dimensions defining a natural upward taper. Suitably, though less desirably, the frame may comprise wood. Also suitably, though less desirably, the frame may be configured as a tapered tube.
The upper end of the trunk frame necessarily comprises rachis mounting means adapted to support and retrain a palm tree crown indicating structure. More particularly, the rachis mounting means is preferably adapted for facilitating fixed and removable attachments of distal ends of a plurality of leaf rachis portraying or indicating shafts. A preferred slip sleeve and slip pin rachis mounting means comprises concentrically mounted inner, medial, and outer sleeves, such sleeves being spaced with respect to each other so that their inner and outer surfaces form and define slip sleeve channels fitted for nestingly receiving and retaining the distal ends of the rachis indicating shafts, such ends functioning as slip pins. Preferably, such cylinders comprise approximate seven inch lengths of square tubing which are interconnected by welded attachments to a common floor. Suitably, other rachis mounting means comprising mounting surfaces mechanically combined with heat fusion welds, adhesive bonds, spirally threaded lug and aperture combinations, rivets, screws, staples, or spirally threaded nut and bolt combinations may be utilized.
The preferred upper crown indicating element of the inventive artificial palm tree preferably comprises nine to twelve of such metal rachis indicating shafts, each such shaft preferably comprising a flat metal bar bent in the manner of the natural curvature of a pinnate palm tree leaf.
A multiplicity of metal plates, each individually shaped to suggest or indicate the leaflet or pinna of a natural palm leaf, are necessarily attached to or wholly formed as a part of the rachis indicating shafts, such pinna indicating plates being oriented and arranged thereon in a manner similar to the arrangement of natural palm leaf pinna. Preferably, the multiplicity of pinna indicating plates are fabricated from sheet metal such as sheet steel, sheet aluminum or sheet copper, and preferably a plasma jet torch is utilized for quickly and efficiently cutting the pinna plate outlines. The pinna indicating plates are preferably fixedly attached to the rachis indicating shafts by heat fusion welds. Other suitable pinna indicating plate attaching means comprise slip pin and slip sleeve combinations, spirally threaded lug and aperture attachments, whole formed joints, adhesive bonds, rivets, screws, staples, and spirally threaded nut and bolt combinations.
A skin element of the inventive artificial palm tree necessarily comprises an overlapping helically wound metal strap extending from the upper end of the frame of the artificial palm tree to the frame""s lower end. The exposed edge of such strap functions to portray or indicate circular leaf scarring which is common to trunks of natural palm trees. For ease of handling upon fabrication, the metal strap is preferably longitudinally segmented, each segment being between five and ten feet in length. Preferably, the strap has a vertical dimension between two and three inches. The strap preferably comprises galvanized steel, mild steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, aluminum, bronze, nickel, various metal alloys, or alternating combinations of such metals.
The preferred thickness of the metal strap is between 0.016 inches and 0.040 inches. Preferably, the exposed edges of the strap are inturned or inwardly flanged, the inturned character of the exposed edges preferably being fabricated by means of a metal melting cutting process which extends a molten bead of metal inwardly. Preferably, plasma jet torch cutting is performed. Suitably, though less desirably, oxyacetylene torch cutting may be utilized. The inturned character of the exposed leaf scar indicating edge of the metal strap beneficially eliminates sharp exposed edges upon the trunk surface. Preferably, the exposed edge of the strap is cut in a wavering or undulating manner, causing such edge to better portray or indicate circular palm tree trunk scarring. Preferably, the metal strap is wrapped helically from the upper end of the trunk downwardly to its base, forming an inverted clinker-built or lap jointed surface, such inverted overlapped configuration being common to the upward and outward growth of natural palm tree trunks. Suitably, though less desirably, upward wrapping from the base may be utilized.
Where the upper edge of the metal strap serves as the leaf scar indicating edge, the lower edge of the strap is preferably spot welded at its points of contact with the underlying frame. Other strap mounting means which may be suitably utilized comprise screws, rivets, nails, blind fasteners, staples, and spirally threaded nut and bolt combinations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure adapted for mechanical simplicity and for economically indicating or portraying the appearance of natural palm tree, such structure incorporating an internal metal frame supporting a skin element comprising a helically wound metal strap.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a structure further incorporating rachis attaching means comprising concentrically mounted cylinders forming concentrically arranged slip sleeve joints.
Other and further objects, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become known to those skilled in the art upon review of the Detailed Description which follows, and upon review of the appended drawings.